Warren's Ben Berdine scored 25 points in Monday's road win at St. Marys.

ST. MARYS, Pa. – After a sluggish start, the Warren Dragons got going at St. Marys on Monday, overcoming some recent struggles against the Dutchmen in the process.

Ben Berdine poured in a game-high 25 points as the Dragons rallied for a 51-43 victory.

“We’ve played them close the last few years and tonight we were able to get out of here with a victory after a very poor first quarter,” said Warren coach Jeff Berdine.

The Dragons (12-7) let one slip away against the Dutch back in December but turned the tide this time around.

Cahil Parrish, St. Marys top player, scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half, as the Dutch raced out to an early 13-5 lead after the first quarter.

“A lot of the same issues we struggled with in the first half against Youngsville,” coach Berdine noted. “A lot of straight-line drives and easy layups in the first half.”

Ben Berdine countered however, scoring 15 of his 17 first-half points in the second quarter to get the Dragons back within four at halftime.

“Ben kept us afloat in the second quarter and we were able to get back in the game,” coach Berdine said. “I told the kids being down four at the half on the road isn’t bad considering how poorly we played in the first quarter.”

The second half was a different story.

Mitch Grosch knocked down a 3 in the third and Berdine continued to pour it on, when St. Marys made a switch to put their best defender on him in the fourth quarter.

Grosch took full advantage, helping the Dragons to pull away late, scoring six of his nine points in the final eight minutes.

“They took their best defender and put him on Ben, which allowed Mitchell to get going off the dribble,” coach Berdine said. “He had three big buckets in the fourth quarter where he finished off dribble-penetration.”

Payton Barnes also knocked down a pair of shots in the fourth as the Dragons picked up their 12th win of the season.

Tom Bablak finished with a team-high six rebounds and also dished out four assists and had two steals.

The Dragons also won the JV game, 61-36. Parks Ordiway had 14 points and JT Blum 13 to lead the way.

Warren returns to action on Thursday, traveling to Fort LeBoeuf for a Region 6 contest.

“We’ve played some good games against St. Marys, and it was good to come back and get this one,” Berdine said.

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WARREN (51)

Arnold 0-0-1-0, Berdine 11-3-4-25, Bablak 2-3-4-7, Grosch 4-0-0-9, Barnes 3-1-2-8, Rafalski 0-0-0-0, Gustafson 0-0-0-0, Swanson 0-2-2-2, Blair 0-0-0-0, Totals 20-9-13-51

ST. MARYS (43)

Parrish 7-2-6-16, Catalone 4-4-4-13, Reiter 2-0-0-5, Lasko 2-0-0-5, Housler 1-0-0-2, Lenze 0-0-0-0, Schlimm 0-0-0-0, Caskey 0-0-0-0, Totals 17-6-10-43

By Quarters

Warren 5 18 14 14 – 51

St. Marys 13 14 6 10 – 43

Three-point FGs: Warren (2) – Grosch, Barnes; St. Marys (3) – Catalone, Reiter, Lasko

– – –

JV

WARREN (61)

Ordiway 6-0-0-14, Borger 1-0-0-2, Blum 6-1-1-13, Blair 3-1-3-7, Greene 2-0-0-4, White 3-0-0-7, Rich 3-2-2-8, Lyon 0-0-0-0, McMeans 0-0-0-0, Vega 2-2-2-6, Arford 0-0-0-0, Darling 0-0-0-0, Totals 26-6-8-61

ST. MARYS (36)

Mitchelll 1-0-2-2, Fox 1-0-0-2, Thornwalt 1-2-2-5, Reitz 2-0-0-5, Billie 2-2-3-6, Hetrick 0-1-2-1, Straub 5-0-0-13, Coudriet 1-0-0-2, Totals 12-7-11-36

By Quarters

Warren 12 17 18 14 – 61

St. Marys 10 13 6 7 – 36

Three-point FGs: Warren (3) – Ordiway 2, White 1; St. Marys (5) – Straub 3, Thornwalt, Reitz